First it was a million, then 10 meters and now 25 meters. Apex Legends has seen tremendous rapid growth, and the recent milestone for a player indicates that there are currently no signs of slowing.

Thanks to an EA update post, we know that Apex Legends has gained 25 million players since its release on February 5th. Concurrent players, meanwhile, reached a peak of healthy 2 million.

I've been waiting all day to tell you this madness … @PlayApex hit 25 million players this morning. Read more about that at the link below. Remember that we have the first season starting in March and more surprises are coming. https://t.co/gwj1sZSQnY

One reason for the impressive numbers is not just the gaming, but also the marketing of Apex Legends – or rather the absence of. Respawn chose to keep Apex Legends a secret to reduce the likelihood of skeptical reception. As leading producer Drew McCoy has stated in an interview with Eurogamer, Respawn makes "a free game, essentially with loot boxes" [it was] bought from EA, and it's not Titanfall 3 ".This seems to be a valid reason to avoid an extended marketing campaign.

The decision to "just deliver the game and let the players play" seems to pay off – both in terms of the number of players and the attention of the streamers. Apex Legends averaged 254,973 on Twitch last week, beating League of Legends with 140,361 and Fortnite with 109,788. This is a significant gap and not surprising given the attention Respawn has given the streamers, but it is likely that the numbers will decline after the first hype has subsided.